Today we are so excited to share a guest post from one of our teen leaders, Emily London. When we heard about Emily's experience this summer, we knew we had to share. Emily is an amazing role model in our own community and we cannot wait to see the continued impact she will make as a "seed" in the future!

Hello TBE! This summer, I was a part of a program called Seas of Peace. It is a graduate program of the Seeds of Peace camp, which I participated in the summer after my freshman year of high school in 2010. After having such an incredible experience at Seeds of Peace, I applied to be a part of a new graduate program called Seas of Peace. I was one of 6 Americans accepted into the program, along with 6 Israelis and 6 Palestinians. We spent 9 days on land getting to know each other, participating in 3 hours of leadership dialogue each day, and learning to sail. But why sailing? Well, we lived on a boat (Get it? Seas of Peace?) for the next 12 days where we continued our leadership dialogue and formed personal relationships with “the other side,” but on top of all of that, we sailed a 125 ft schooner, which is a type of sail boat. Working 24/7, we steered the boat, looked out for other boats, coiled ropes, washed the deck, cleaned the toilets at 4 a.m., and completed MANY other types of chores to keep the boat up and running. We sailed roughly 1000 nautical miles from Portland, ME, to New York City (where we met Ambassadors from the United Nations!!), and then back up to Boston.

It was an extremely challenging 12 days, but I learned so much during that time. It is difficult to articulate my feelings during the experience, so I decided to put together a collection of excerpts from my journal I kept while participating in Seas of Peace. The entries are in chronological order:

“We only have one more full day until we get on the boat. It’s going to push me so hard, and it is sounding pretty daunting. Not only the responsibility of taking care of myself, but the idea of being responsible for other people is really scary. Also seasickness. Yuck.” “It’s July 4th. I just brushed my teeth off the side of the boat while watching the fireworks from across the ocean. Now, that’s pretty cool!” “I just keep remembering how happy I am to be here with all of these people, some whom I may never see again.” “It has been amazing to watch my friends on both sides of the conflict come together and bond. Being on the boat makes it virtually unavoidable to not become extremely close.”

“I’ve reached a new point of exhaustion. I cannot even articulate how tired I am.” “There is a higher purpose than just sailing a boat. It’s about throwing us all out of our comfort zone into the unknown world of sailing where we’re all learning how to coexist with each other in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. I am a part of something bigger than myself. I am a Seed of Peace.”

“We must trust that our emotional, personal stories we share in dialogue will be understood and acknowledged. And with that acknowledgement comes forgiveness and hope...Peace is possible if more small groups like Seas of Peace could reach a similar level of understanding. “

If anyone has ANY questions about my experience, how to get involved in Seeds of Peace, the friends I made, or anything else, PLEASE do not hesitate to ask! I would love talking to anyone about my experience. Also, visit seedsofpeace.org and seasofpeace.org (to see blog posts!) Hope everyone is having a fantastic summer! Emily London